Seeing the two minotaur-bodied monsters, Zhang Ling was first stunned, then he thought of a unique type among the half-demons.
Most half-demons can maintain a human form, and as their cultivation increases, the demonic features on their bodies gradually recede.
However, there is a type of half-demon that is born with very obvious demonic features, referring to minotaur half-demons or snake-tailed human bodies, etc. They often belong to the first or second generation of half-demons, and one of their direct relatives may be a transformed demon beast.
The spiritual pressure on the two minotaur half-demons in front of him was at the fourth level, and it seemed that they were only one step away from being promoted to the ranks of high-level cultivators.
"Oh, human cultivators again, I hope you can survive." One of the minotaurs glanced at Zhang Ling and Huang Ying with cold eyes and sneered.
The other minotaur only grunted a "please" and pointed his thick arm inside. Zhang Ling and the two nodded and walked straight into the palace, passing the two minotaurs.
Watching the two leave, the two minotaurs looked at each other, and the black-haired one said in a muffled voice, "This time's Spirit Offering Palace competition, I feel like there are more human cultivators participating than usual."
"Hmph, it doesn't matter if there are a few more people. The human race is just greedy for the treasures inside. Even if they are high-level cultivators, the participants in this competition are all high-level half-demons and demon beasts. They won't get any good." A fierce look flashed in the other minotaur's eyes, and he snorted disdainfully.
Speaking of Zhang Ling and the two who had already walked a distance, with their powerful divine sense, they naturally heard the conversation of the two minotaurs.
Zhang Ling frowned. It seemed that this competition was really dangerous.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, don't worry. The Spirit Offering Palace competition is not a one-on-one arena competition like our human race, but a free-for-all. Although it is dangerous, as long as the two of us join forces and break through a few levels, we can get the Bloodwood Heart. I also have a treasure given by the Qinghu King, so safety is not a concern."
Huang Ying seemed to see Zhang Ling's doubts and comforted him softly.
Zhang Ling didn't say much. After walking for a while, they arrived at the very center of the palace.
There were several huge statues here, which seemed to be statues of some half-demons. In the center of the statues was a circular teleportation array. Next to it stood a snake-tailed man whose spiritual pressure was also at the sixth-level demon beast level. This was a high-level half-demon.
"You two come up, stand in the teleportation array, and I will send you to Hundred Spirit Pool."
The two nodded and stood in the teleportation array. The snake-tailed man took out a black token and activated the teleportation array by channeling spiritual power into it.
Zhang Ling and Huang Ying disappeared in a flash of teleportation light.
...
A vast expanse of white lay before them, and they could only see two or three zhang around them. Zhang Ling suddenly appeared in the fog, and Huang Ying was nowhere to be seen. He looked around, but there was nothing but fog, and he couldn't see anything clearly, and his divine sense couldn't penetrate it.
Is this the Hundred Spirit Pool?
He walked around again, but could only move a little over ten zhang. Once he stepped into the fog, he was pushed back to the original place by the dense fog. It seemed that he was temporarily trapped here. There was obviously some kind of restriction here.
However, Zhang Ling was not worried about this situation. Huang Ying had explained it to him.
As long as the competition officially started, the fog would dissipate. The place where they were now was the Hundred Spirit Pool, which was not far from the City of Ten Thousand Demons.
Zhang Ling's hand flashed with spiritual light, and a black animal skin appeared in his hand, with a simple map of the Hundred Spirit Pool on it. Because he didn't know much about the competition, Huang Ying had made these preparations, marking some directions and location information to help him identify directions and locations.
The Hundred Spirit Pool was neither big nor small. It was a swampy area located between two mountains, covering an area of more than a thousand miles.
The competition has been held here for many years. Every time the competition starts, the participating cultivators must start from the periphery and advance towards the central area. There are several checkpoints along the way, and the duration is not long, only a full day.
Each checkpoint also has a time limit, and those who fail to pass within the specified time will be disqualified. As long as they can break into the central area within a hundred miles of the Hundred Spirit Pool, they will receive a portion of the reward.
That is also the final battleground. Once the number of people meets the requirements, more than a dozen rare treasures will be released for the participating cultivators to compete for. At the same time, an exit is also set up there. In short, this competition is about grabbing the treasure and getting out safely, and the treasure you get will be yours.
The Spirit Offering Palace competition itself is not held for the sake of slaughter, but to select potential high-level half-demons. The difference is that due to the participation of the demon race, some extremely potential high-level demon beasts will also join.
Now, even a small number of human cultivators will participate in this competition. It can be said that they are fighting on their own, which is why Huang Ying said it was a free-for-all.
However, this is also a real fight. Life and death are at your own risk. Many high-level demon beasts and half-demons die every time, and human cultivators are no exception, and often few can get out.
Compared to the human race's competition, the Spirit Offering Palace competition is more bloody, and it believes in the survival of the fittest.
After looking at the map a few times and memorizing the special locations in his mind, Zhang Ling flipped his hand again and took out a cyan jade token. When his divine sense invaded it, he saw a line of words appearing on it. It read "Meet at the center". This was a special jade slip that could transmit information and sense each other.
Zhang Ling put away the jade token and sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting for the competition to begin.
...
At this moment, the sacrifice on the altar in the City of Ten Thousand Demons was over, and the surrounding cultivators also dispersed. Suddenly, two figures appeared next to the empty altar.
The two were a man and a woman. The woman was wearing a green dress and had a slender figure. As she walked, a little bit of green light floated around her. The woman's face was fair, but some emerald green, crystalline scales were visible between the corners of her eyes, and her lips were also emerald green, which looked a bit strange.
The man, however, had an ordinary, square face, a tall figure, and a head of black hair scattered messily behind his head. The clothes he wore were also gray and unremarkable.
The man with unkempt hair suddenly said in a buzzing voice.
"Bi Ying, is the news from Red Fire King accurate? This old demon said that he saw a cultivator holding the Qian Ling Cauldron outside before, is it true?"
The woman in green smiled charmingly and said with a strange expression.
"That's right, not long ago, Red Scarlet went to a high-level cultivator trade fair in the human territory. Someone caused trouble at that trade fair. Originally, this was nothing, and in most cases, it would be suppressed by the organizer with strength. But something went wrong. The troublemaker actually hid his cultivation and also had our strength. He fought against an elder of the Spirit Ghost Sect without falling behind."
"Is there such a thing? What does this Qian Ling Cauldron have to do with it?" The man seemed to have become interested.
